“You don’t need a lot of data to be more successful.” Right on. The hype around Big Data is masking an important reality; the business value of data is in people having access to the right data at the right time. (See related blog post, “The Last-Mile Challenge of Big Data.”) Important questions related to Big Data are: How do you deliver data services to the people who need them? How do you give business users an excellent experience that will keep them coming back for more? How do you enable them to explore the data on their own and in groups to discover insights? To make discoveries that help them innovate? How do you help them simplify decision making, and turn decisions into action? The answer isn’t “give then more data.” It is “give them relevant data and provide them with excellent self-service capabilities.”

“You don’t necessarily have to do all the analysis yourself.” In one sense this is a great point, and I agree wholeheartedly. New data services are popping up every day on the web to bring together data from multiple sources (e.g., social media sites, government data, industry data, manufacturers’ channels, etc.) and make it available to customers. This information collection takes some of the burden off the people who have business questions. But another take on Davenport’s position is that in today’s world — where business users have access to tools they can use to easily explore data, make discoveries, and derive insights — performing analysis is no longer a bummer; it’s no longer an obligation, a “have to.” Exploring data using analytic apps is now a pleasure, and putting this capability directly in the hands of the people who have questions is empowering. And that’s where we come to Davenport’s third point.

I am a marketing and strategy professional with 16 years of experience in the software industry. I'm currently a senior director of product marketing at QlikTech, where I develop and deliver product positioning, messaging, and expertise in support of the company's sales and marketing activities. Prior to joining QlikTech, I was a co-founder and principal with ThinkBalm, an independent analyst ...